Router for home use

Really isn't a certification question but thought I'd ask anyway. I'm just tired of SOHO routers. After having 3 linksys brick on me from heavy use, I tried an Engenius that was suppose to be a lot better. Well it bricked today under stress. I've heard good things about the 800 Series ISR's from Cisco. What I need for sure is gigabit wan and gigabit ethernet (I will be upgrading to 100+/20 soon).

Does anyone have any recommendations on the 800 series? Or I might even spring for a 1941W. If I have to spend $1300-$1500 I'm fine with that. I just want something that will not bend with load and drop my connection.

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Comments

SteveThing

What kind of traffic are we talking about (internally and externally)?

As much as I've enjoyed my 877W, I was always annoyed that the switch modules were so limited in functionality (2 VLANs, no layer 3 support, etc) and were only FastEthernet. Gigabit is nice, but it is expensive.

There's also the consideration of your WAN link. Is it DSL, broadband, Verizon FiOS (real tricky one here)? Will you need more than LAN links?

Personally, if I had $1500 to spend on my home network, I would get an 800 series router and trunk it to a gigabit switch and slap a cheap WiFi AP on my switch as well. Then again, having it all together in a 1900 series b/g/n router with 8 gigabit ports would make it much more compact. Problem is, you won't find a 1941W for less than $3k I think.

themagicone

*NEW SEALED* CISCO1941W-A/K9 Cisco 1941-W IS Router | eBay

$1239

Then I would just need a gigabit HWIC. I have comcast now on the 50/10 but I'm going to switch to 100/20. My one roommate is always VPN'ing into numerous projects (work, his server farm in KS, etc), then there is 4 more adults that use the internet heavily. Just seems the SOHO router collapse after only a few months.

alxx

Made sure its not a fault on your line blowing the routers ?
Not getting spikes ?

Other problem with some soho routers is poor cooling especially some older Linksys(and not so old)
Make a case cut out, install a fan and the old wrt54g's lasted for years.

Haven't been sticking them somewhere with poor or no airflow ?

luisYme

hi-
a good inexpensive alternative is to buy a cisco 3550 emi for both routing and switching. you can practice all layer 2, stp, port-security, etc. topics as well as run routing protocols.

hope this helps!

alxx

luisYme wrote: »

hi-
a good inexpensive alternative is to buy a cisco 3550 emi for both routing and switching. you can practice all layer 2, stp, port-security, etc. topics as well as run routing protocols.

hope this helps!

It appears he already has CCNA and CCNA security

and 3350's can't act as a modem

alan2308

alxx wrote: »

It appears he already has CCNA and CCNA security
and 3350's can't act as a modem

It also can't do NAT, which is probably a deal killer for a home router.

terryfera

What about going with an old PC and something like Vyatta, pfsense, Astaro, clearos? It would probably give you the performance and reliability you're looking for. Throw an AP on a switch further down and you're set.

ZachB

I had an 881W I used briefly for home use. It had serious issues with the wireless AP though (random reboots multiple times daily) so I sent it back to the e-bay seller. I did like it though, however, the radio wasn't the strongest. I get much better signal everywhere with the latest Apple airport extreme (yea, I know, nowhere in the same league). I am seriously considering getting an 891W though so I have the 5ghz option.

PC509

terryfera wrote: »

What about going with an old PC and something like Vyatta, pfsense, Astaro, clearos? It would probably give you the performance and reliability you're looking for. Throw an AP on a switch further down and you're set.

I have to agree with this. pfSense is an EXCELLENT firewall/router OS. Throw it on a PC with Gb NIC's and you are set. Great QoS, VERY stable, lots of features. Sure, it won't get you through the CCNA, but it is a great alternative for a home router.

SteveThing

The cost of an HWIC and a 4/8-port ESW is gonna push you over your budget a bit. I didn't realize the 1900 series dropped in price... or maybe I was confusing them with the 2900 series.

In any event, my 877W has been outstanding for WiFi. The only issues I've had with it are DSL specific, and no blame to the device (Verizon tech-support fails).

I currently use pfSense for my VPNs and firewall. You can buy dedicated hardware that is recommended by pfSense for a lot cheaper than the 1900. Although if your cable modem is taking a crap....

Have you tried checking the signal levels on your modem (it usually has a 192.168.100.0/24 network setup) or requesting the ISP to re-push the firmware?